The Decision - Extended Version
by AgentRez
Summary: Extended version of the alternate universe we saw in 6x10, "The Decision". Starts with a few 'deleted scenes', then goes on to continue the story where it left off on the show. In the first installment, see how the Inauguration Night scene from 208 would have gone in the alternate universe.
1. Prequel Part 1

_I don't know what the point is of extending or continuing a story in a made-up universe, but I loved the 100th episode and I found myself wanting to know what would happen next for Fitz and Liv after they commit to working things out. Would they be able to? Would he run for president again? Why did he decide not to run in the first place? Would they face some of the same challenges they faced in the real Scandalverse if he does? So here is yet another time-wasting endeavor that I am working on instead of doing what I should be doing._

 _I have not decided at this point whether I am making this alternate universe real or whether it still takes place in Olivia's head._

 _I am going to continue the alternate timeline in later chapters, but first I am filling in a few gaps in it. This first part takes place shortly after the proposal scene._

* * *

"I missed you," Fitz says as Liv curls up on his chest. He kisses her forehead and smiles down at her with that loving look in his eyes as they both catch their breath. "I'm guessing from the way you yanked my clothes off and told me your bedroom was too far away for the first round that you missed me too."

"Mmm, maybe a little," she concedes coyly. "What?" she asks when she sees the look on his face.

"Nothing, I just...I've never seen you be so...on the campaign trail I was always the one yanking you into the room and frantically trying to get you naked."

"Are you complaining?"

"No, I liked it," he says with a grin.

"On the campaign trail I had to worry about making sure nobody saw us, and that I didn't make too much noise or leave any marks on your skin that your wife might notice, and keep an eye on my phone in case...oh, crap!" She sits up suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Fitz asks.

"I was supposed to meet my date an hour ago, and I left my phone out in the hall."

Fitz grins. "But then I showed up and made you feel so good you forgot all about him?" he brags. She rolls her eyes and wraps herself in the sheet to go get her phone. "Stay there, mister," she orders as he gets up to follow her.

She sneaks the door open just wide enough to reach for her things, then goes back into her living room and calls Leo.

"Leo, hi, it's Olivia. I am so sorry for standing you up. I..." she starts trying to think of an excuse but then Fitz comes up behind her and starts tickling her and kissing her neck. "I'm getting married!" she tells Leo, then quickly hangs up the phone giggling at how bizarre it is to tell that to someone you were supposed to have a date with that night. At this point, she is too caught up in the moment to think about the political implications of tipping off a Republican operative who might one day work for one of Fitz's rivals that they were engaged so soon after the election and after he left his wife. Her giggles turn to happy shrieks as Fitz picks her up and carries her back to bed.

* * *

 **THREE WEEKS LATER - INAUGURATION DAY**

Olivia comes home from work and feels a pang of guilt as she sees Fitz watching coverage of Reston's inauguration, a defeated look on his face.

She puts her bags down and cuddles up next to him on the couch.

"You okay?" she asks gently.

"I am now," he says, wrapping his arms around her. It's been a rough day and he's really glad she's finally home. She feels another pang of guilt wondering if she should have found an excuse not to go to work and stayed home with him so he didn't have to spend the day alone. The truth is, she isn't sure she could have handled watching the inauguration with him, knowing she'd taken away his chance.

She touches his cheek sympathetically. "You want to order some food?" she asks.

"We could go out to a restaurant, like a real couple," he teases.

"Fitz, we've been over this."

"Yeah, I know. Keep it on the DL a little longer so it's not obvious that our relationship began as an affair."

"Especially today. You're not even supposed to be here, in DC, on Reston's inauguration day."

"Fine," he pouts. He knows she is right, but he doesn't like having to still keep things secret.

* * *

"Do you think we made the right decision?" Fitz asks a while later as they sit on the couch eating their food, watching recap footage of Reston taking the oath and giving his speech. The question catches Liv completely off guard. Does he know about Defiance? How could he possibly know? She looks at him curiously.

"Not using the opposition research on Reston?" he clarifies. "Not listening to my father. It sucks to think that maybe he was right after all."

His last sentence breaks Olivia's heart. This is exactly what she was afraid of - that if he lost the election he would internalize everything his father said about him not being a winner. It's why she came closer than she wants to admit to going along with Hollis' vote rigging scheme.

"I can't say if you would have won or not. You might have won some votes by attacking Reston for taking Prozac, but you also might have lost some. For what it's worth, I can tell you that that moment in the debate when you decided not to go there, that's the moment I decided who I was voting for."

He smiles. "Most important vote out of 150 million."

Olivia chuckles. "You realize that I'm registered here, in DC, which you didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning?"

"I don't care. You're the most important person in my life," Fitz responds, kissing the top of her head. Olivia smiles, trying to shake off the nagging feeling of guilt.

He notices her looking sad and wistful watching Reston and his wife dance at the inaugural ball on TV, just as she did watching the inaugural balls in 208, albeit for an entirely different reason.

"Come here," he says, getting up off the couch and holding out his hand. She takes his hand and lets him lead her to the area in front of her dining room table, where he puts his hand on her hip and starts dancing with her. On her TV screen, they show Reston and his wife dancing at one of the inaugural balls.

"Fitz, what are you doing?" she asks.

He nods over to the TV screen. "I wanted to win the election, I wanted to be president. But if I had won, I'd be at one of those balls with Mellie carrying on the illusion of a happy marriage, never getting to dance with the one person I really wanted to dance with. Instead I'm here, with you."

Olivia's heart melts when he says those last words. She wraps her arms around his neck and starts kissing him, gently at first. The kiss quickly grows more passionate, and after a minute he backs her up against the dining room table, making a mess of the papers she had neatly laid out to prepare a mailing for work before laying her back on the table.

She pushes him away. "Fitz, stop," she whines. "You're messing up my mailing."

"Mmm, I can't stop. Can you?" he challenges.

She answers him by sitting on the table and giving him a seductive look, the mailing be damned. Their lips find each other's again and they eagerly taste each other's lips and tongues as the kisses grow more passionate. As he starts trailing his lips down her body, she finds herself fantasizing that they are in the Oval Office and she is sitting on the resolute desk instead of her kitchen table. She is wearing a white dress instead of the jeans and sweater she has on, and he's wearing a tux with a bowtie. "Uh...uh...oh yeah," she gasps, throwing her head back in pleasure and continuing to indulge in the fantasy as his lips trail lower, moaning when he plants a soft kiss on her most sensitive spot.

* * *

 _The next part will address why Fitz decided not to run again in the AU and why Liv started pulling away, so it will be a bit angstier. Then the story will proceed to after the alternate universe ended with Liv showing Fitz pictures of a townhouse in Georgetown, which I am psyched to write because it seems like a much more realistic and interesting path for them than making jam in Vermont, which they couldn't do for more than an episode and still it be the same show. Reviews are highly appreciated and keep me motivated. Please feel free to be brutally honest._


	2. Prequel Part 2

_Thanks so much for all the reviews on the first chapter. This part takes place about 9 months after the wedding, 3 months before the big fight._

Fitz gets out of the shower and walks into the bedroom wrapped in a towel. He smiles when he sees his wife sitting at her makeup bureau in her bathrobe pressing her hair.

"You don't have to do that," he insists. "I can think of a better way to spend the time," he says seductively, leaning down from behind her and kissing her neck.

"Fitz, no, no, no. This meeting is important. We need to be a believable couple that people can envision as President and First Lady."

"Mmm, I like the sound of that. But why do you need to straighten your hair?"

"Because it makes me look a little more palatable to the Republican base."

"I'm a Republican and I like your hair curly," he responds.

"You know what I mean. Besides, I wore it straight during the campaign and I don't remember you complaining," she remarks.

"I like it straight too, I just...you shouldn't have to..."

"I don't have to do anything," she says pointedly. "This is my hair and I'm the only one who gets to decide if I want to straighten it or not."

"Okay, fair enough," he concedes. "But by the same logic, shouldn't I get to pick my own tie?" He holds up a multi-colored tie that he knows she is going to hate.

"Um, no," she says firmly, cringing at the memory of some of the ties she had to yank off of him during the campaign. She started carrying a supply of ties for him that she found appropriate, and she's pretty sure he started picking bad ties on purpose after a while because he liked having her change it for him.

"Now, that doesn't seem fair, now does it?" he complains.

"Deal with it," she retorts.

"I still don't understand why we're even having this meeting now," he grumbles. "The election's more than 2 years away."

"Because if you want to run again, you need to line up some key people now to run your campaign, before the top talent gets taken. As the standard bearer for the party the last time around they're going to expect you to make a decision early."

"I want you to run my campaign," Fitz responds.

Olivia laughs. "Okay, Fitz, there are a million reasons why that is a non-starter," she says, amused by how unrealistic he is being.

"Go on, let's hear it," he says with a groan.

"Now that we're married my job is to stand next to you and smile, not give orders to staffers who won't take me seriously because I'm your wife. More importantly, donors and activists and operatives and politicians whose endorsements you'll need won't take you seriously if you have your wife running your campaign. You need people who have credibility, who can be objective, whose commitment to your campaign will scare away potential rivals."

"Fine, but why does it have to be your ex boyfriend?"

"He is not my ex boyfriend! The night you showed up was supposed to be our first date and as you know I didn't even go," she says with a grin, hoping to placate him.

"Yes, I know. I kept you pretty busy, didn't I?" he brags. "How about we stand him up again today?" he says suggestively, making another attempt to get inside her robe.

"You are shameless. Get dressed!" she orders, amused by his persistence.

"Fine," Fitz agrees with a groan.

An hour later, Fitz and Liv are sitting with Leo Bergen at Leo's office.

"Look, I took this meeting as a courtesy because...well, honestly I don't know why, but I'm going to give it to you straight," Leo tells them. "You can't win a Republican nomination."

Fitz looks taken aback. "You get right to the point," he comments. "You realize I did win the Republican nomination 3 years ago, right?"

"That was three years ago. The party's moved further right since Reston took office. Honestly, you were too liberal for the party even then. The only reason you got the nomination..."

"Was because a miracle worker came onto my campaign," Fitz says proudly, wrapping his arm around Liv.

"Okay, that may be true," Leo continues, rolling his eyes at the display of affection. "But the only reason you had a shot at winning the nomination is because George W. Bush had made the Republican brand toxic and being the son of Ronald Reagan's lieutenant governor made you synonymous with a time when the party was more popular."

"What?" Fitz says with disbelief.

Olivia grips his arm reassuringly. "Fitz, just hear him out," she encourages.

"The point is, you're too liberal for the Republican base. That's strike one. Strike two, you lost. You're a loser. People don't like to vote for a loser again."

"Ouch," Fitz responds.

"Leo, to play devil's advocate, he came so close to winning in a year when Republicans shouldn't have even had a chance," Olivia says.

"Close or not, he still lost."

"What's strike three?" Fitz asks, trying not to get irritated.

"The third strike is...your marriage."

"Our marriage?" Fitz asks with disbelief. "There is nothing wrong with our marriage," he says indignantly.

"Internally, maybe not, but the timing of it is suspicious. There's going to be speculation that the two of you were screwing before you were divorced. Which I'm pretty sure you were based on the fact that your wife stood me up and told me she was getting married before your divorce was even made public, but either way there's going to be speculation. And even if it's not true, there's still the problem of..."

"Problem of what?" Fitz demands.

"Okay, this is a little awkward, but there are some voters who still aren't going to be comfortable with you as a couple," Leo says.

"You mean because..."

"Because I'm black, you're white, and some Republican primary voters are going to be put off by that," Liv explains, her cool demeanor making it clear that she doesn't take it personally as she states the obvious.

"That's ridiculous," Fitz protests. "We're always talking about being a more inclusive party. Hell, we give prime time speaking slots at the convention to the mayor of some podunk town in Kentucky because we're desperate to show diversity."

"Yes, and the RNC diversity chair and whoever's tasked with picking convention speakers will love her," Leo agrees. "Joe Truckdriver and Holly Homemaker in Iowa, not so much. Look, you had the perfect political wife," Leo says. "Honestly, when you got divorced, most of us took that as a sign that you weren't planning on running again. Look, I'd like to help you. Unlike many of my clients, you actually seem like a decent person..."

"Well, shouldn't that count for something?" Olivia cuts in. "Wouldn't you rather work for someone who's a decent person, who's authentic and not afraid to make bold choices?"

"Ten years ago, when I was as green as you are, sure. But I'm at a point in my career where I want to work with winners. And I'm sorry, governor, but I just don't see you as a winner."

* * *

They are silent on the cab ride home. Liv can see how upset Fitz is and goes to hold his hand, but hesitates, afraid he might need space.

When they get home, Fitz slumps down onto the couch and pours himself a generous glass of Scotch. Liv comes out of the bedroom after changing into more casual clothes for work, pulling her sweater on as she sits down next to him but still keeps her distance.

"Can we talk first?" she asks hesitantly.

"What's to talk about? You knew what he was going to say. You knew I didn't have a chance. You could have just told me that yourself instead of having your ex-boyfriend do your dirty work."

Olivia shakes her head in frustration. "First, Leo is not my ex-boyfriend. We've been over this. Second, the idea that I need a man to do my 'dirty work' is sexist and insulting. Third, I wouldn't have taken the morning off from work to go to this meeting with you if I didn't think you had a chance."

"Cut the crap, Liv," Fitz snaps. "You just sat there nodding your head and offering token protests when he laid out all the reasons why I'm a loser. If you didn't agree with him you would have launched into a tirade about all the reasons you think he's wrong. But you don't think he's wrong, do you?"

Liv sighs, not sure how to answer. She can't deny that there's some truth to what he's saying, even if he's greatly exaggerating. "I think he raised some valid points," she concedes. "I think the things he talked about are obstacles. But I don't think they're insurmountable."

"Then why didn't you tell that to Leo Bergen?" he demands, the disgust evident in his voice when he says Leo's name.

"Because you need someone who believes in you, someone who will fight for you instead of writing you off. You don't want to work with Cyrus anymore because he's married to your ex-wife. Fine. I get it. But that means we need to find someone else who believes in you as much as he does. So we'll meet with more strategists until we find the right one. Okay?" she urges, gently cupping his hand in hers.

"Okay," Fitz agrees. The tension dissipates, but Liv can't shake the nagging feeling that he is just saying okay to placate her. She kisses him and then goes to grab her backpack, but he pulls her back onto the couch.

"Take the whole day off," he urges, placing his hands strategically to try to tempt her.

"Mmmm...I can't...I have to go to work."

"Oh, come on. You can't be a tease twice in one day. That's just evil."

"How am I being a tease?" she asks indignantly.

"This morning you were sitting there wearing nothing but that silky robe I got you while you did your hair, and then just now you came in here putting your sweater on showing just enough for me to see that you're wearing that white lace bra that you were wearing the first night we were together. You're being a tease," he complains.

Olivia rolls her eyes. "I am not being a tease," she protests.

"Yes, you are. You're evil," he whines.

She suddenly smirks mischievously. She climbs onto the couch, straddling him, and slowly, sensuously removes his tie, then leans in and whispers in his ear.

"When we make our first campaign trip, I'll use your tie on you the way you used it on me that night in Cleveland," she whispers seductively, hoping that reminding him of how much fun they had together during the campaign will lift his spirits and motivate him. He moans as he remembers the time she went through his tie collection and threw all the ones she found too distracting to be worn on the campaign trail into a pile, which led to him using one of the "distracting" ties to blindfold her while he distracted her in ways that made her crazy.

She lifts her sweater gives him a quick peek at the aforementioned lace bra she is wearing, then to his disbelief, she pops off his lap and grabs her backpack.

"You can't be serious," he grumbles.

"Just to be clear, that is me being a tease," she says smugly, giving him a quick kiss on the head before leaving for work.

* * *

 **THREE WEEKS LATER**

Liv walks through the halls of her alma mater, Georgetown Law, and smiles when she sees Cyrus' name on the door of the dean's office.

"Nice office," she says as she enters.

"Liv! Surprised to see you here," Cyrus says. "No, wait, actually, I'm not. I'm not surprised," he says coldly. Liv looks confused.

"You're here because you're desperate, right? You're here because you've talked to every Republican strategist in town and they've all told you that he's unelectable, right?"

"They don't know him like you do, Cyrus. He needs someone who believes in him."

"Well, then you've come to the wrong place. I did. I did believe in him. I believed in him for years, put my blood, sweat and tears into propping him up. I got him this close and what did you do? You snatched away his dreams, my dreams, everyone's dreams, including yours. You were my star student. You could have made a name for yourself, established yourself as a campaign miracle worker, become a power player in this town," Cyrus laments.

"And it would have been a lie," Olivia insists.

"I'm not even talking about Defiance," Cyrus snaps back. "Defiance wouldn't have even been on the table if you had done the job I brought you on to do," he says. "I never in a million years thought you would decide that crawling into bed with him was part of the job, but I could forgive you for that. At least you had the good sense to be discreet, so discreet that even I didn't know. Honestly, getting some on the side probably made it easier for him to fake it with Mellie and made him more bearable for everyone on staff to be around, so if you'd done it right I might even be thanking you."

"Done it right?" Olivia asks incredulously.

"You let him believe it was more than just sex, more than just a way to unwind at the end of a stressful day on the campaign trail. You let him get attached. He took his eye off the ball, he lost his fire because he was dreaming about a life with you, a life he couldn't have if he won. "

"Cyrus, this may be hard for you to understand, but it was never 'just sex'. He was 'attached' to me - we were attached to each other - before we started sleeping together. Pretty much from the moment we met," she says with a smile, remembering the first time they talked. "I know that sounds insane, but…"

"But nothing. It sounds insane because it is insane! Come on, you know better. You should have shut it down, or at least managed his expectations. You should have had the good sense to realize it was just a fantasy, that you're drawn to power and that he'd be a lot less attractive to you if he didn't win."

"That's not true!" she says in a tone that indicates that Cyrus has touched a nerve.

"Oh come on, it's true and you know it. It's why you're here, determined to get him to run again. I'm guessing he doesn't even know you're here, right? He doesn't even want my help, but you're going to try to push it on him because you're the one who's desperate."

Olivia sighs. "I'm just...I feel like he's losing his passion," she admits.

"Of course he is! He feels like a loser, because he is a loser. He had it all and now he's realizing he threw it away for a fantasy. He was delusional enough to think that he could divorce Mellie, marry you six months later, and get another shot at the presidency. Him, I can understand. He's always been naive, pampered, detached from reality. But you? You're smarter than that! You had to know that marrying him would kill any chance he had of winning the Republican nomination again."

"You mean because I'm black?" she snaps.

"Among other reasons. Come on, Liv, you know better than to get sensitive about this. You know that you're not exactly the right hue for the Republican base even if they could get past the cheating and the lying and the abandonment."

Olivia looks like she has been punched in the gut. She has heard a similar spiel from other Republican strategists but from Cyrus feels a lot more real.

"Look, Liv, don't despair," Cyrus says in a tone that is half patronizing, half sympathetic. "You made a mistake. A big mistake, one that cost all of us dearly. But it's not too late, not for you at least. You can still get out. You don't even have to divorce him. Just accept that he's a dead weight and focus on your career, not his. Get on another campaign, preferably for a woman so you can't be accused of sleeping your way to the top, and work your magic. I'll even make some calls for you, because even though you broke my heart I still believe you have a lot of potential."

Olivia considers for a minute. She wants to tell Cyrus why he's wrong but can't find the words, because deep down she wonders if he isn't.

"No, thank you," she says after a moment. "I am not abandoning Fitz. I am not giving up on him."

Cyrus shakes his head. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he chuckles dryly.

* * *

 **TWO WEEKS LATER**

Olivia is sitting on her couch when Fitz comes in, dressed in a suit and tie, smiling.

"Hey you," he says cheerfully, leaning down to give her a kiss.

"Hey," she says, happy to see him in a better mood than he's been lately.

"I have good news," he says. She lights up and looks at him expectantly.

"The producers at BNC want me to take over the 3 o'clock hour, host a political talk show."

"A political talk show?" she asks skeptically, hoping he didn't notice the excitement drain from her face.

"Yeah. I'll give commentary on the news of the day, interview politicians and statesmen."

"That's...that's great," she says, trying hard to be happy for him.

"You don't look happy," he comments.

"No, I am. I just...I thought..."

"Come on, Liv. We've talked to I don't know how many potential campaign managers and they've all said the same thing."

"We still have more..."

"They're going to say the same thing too. You know it. And I noticed you've suddenly stopped insinuating that I should call Cyrus, which means you already went to talk to him behind my back and he said the same thing, didn't he?"

"Yes," Olivia admits.

Fitz sighs, frustrated. "It's not going to happen, Liv. It's time to accept it and move on with our lives, okay?" he says gently, sitting down next to her and taking a sip of scotch.

"Okay," she agrees reluctantly. His tone is reassuring but she can see the disappointment in his eyes. He leans in to kiss her but she pulls away. "I'm sorry. I have to finish this," she explains, gesturing to her computer. It's a lame excuse but she just can't be close to him or even look at him right now, because all she can think about is how she is responsible for taking away his dream.

* * *

Sorry to end on a sad note, but I thought this would provide some context for why Fitz decided not to run again and why Liv seemed so disappointed about it. The next chapter will likely start after the end of the dream in 610, when Liv shows Fitz the townhouse in Georgetown. Please review and feel free to be honest if you didn't like it or think it could be better.


	3. Author's Note

I updated this story yesterday and added Chapter 2 (Prequel Part 2), but I got an error when I posted it and the story disappeared from the list of Scandal fanfics. So this is just an author's note to let people know that I added chapter 2 and hopefully get the story back on the list. Reviews are highly appreciated. I will have chapter 3, which will be the first chapter that takes place after the end of Olivia's dream in 610, up as soon as possible.


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